Letter: ‘K-Train’ derails Bulls

Watching Derrick Rose’s knee give way was heartbreaking. Franchises struggle when the franchise player goes down. Let’s see … and there was (also) the toe, the knee, the groin, the ankle and the back. Can’t anyone connect the dots or, rather, body parts? Only two possibilities could have occurred … maybe both together.

The K-Train or Kinetic Chain was weakened. That is the coordinated movement that naturally occurs in synchronized moving parts. The foot/toe is connected to the ankle bone, connected to the leg bone, which is part of the knee, connected to the thigh bone, which is connected to the hip/groin, which is connected to the back bone. The old song had it right. What they didn’t sing about is when one joint gets out of timing with another, something is going to give. This is a common occurrence regardless of age, and it’s not just for athletes.

Foot and ankle injuries can migrate up the chain to the knee. Foot and ankle problems can move all the way up to the back eventually. However, the back injury, even if it is just stiff or sore, can migrate down the whole leg (Kinetic Chain). The back is the engine to the lower limb K-Train Chain.

Eventually, some joint (the knee in this case) will give out. The point being, this is a common occurrence. It occurs in high school students during a season, or in seniors over decades. The K-Train goes off the rails one car at a time. Focus is on the immediate derailment if no one connects the dots, and other cars go off the rails.

The other reason is incomplete healing of any part of the chain, setting the person up for the next injury.

The result can be more cars off the rails and rails mangled (Rose). Then you’re done for the season or for the playoffs. Maybe you end up with a trick knee from cheerleading or football.

Ten years later it’s a back problem; 20 years later you go to a podiatrist for a foot problem, and 40 years later you have a hip replacement. Really? Connect the dots.